By Brittany Titus
Round Table editor

“This is one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption.”
 – Isabel Allende

 Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner was published in 2003 and is Hosseini’s first novel. It tells a story of a young boy, Amir, and his life living in the monarchy just before his country’s revolution and its invasion by Russian forces.

 The story continues about the hardships that Amir goes through. The guilt that Amir feels about his mother’s death and the ignorance his father shows because of it haunts the boy. The only way that he really feels at peace is through the friendship he shares with his servant, Hassan.

 Amir and Hassan’s friendship is looked down upon because of the difference in social classes. The Kite Runner reveals a true friendship between the two young boys and their passion for not only kite flying, but staying together through the hard times.

 “But we were kids who had learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that either.” This quote by Amir shows his true feelings for his best friend, and shows the reader what he thinks.

 Hosseini really knows how to write powerful and moving stories. He is an international bestseller and is published in forty countries. The story of Amir and Hassan will reach out and move you.

 According to The Washington Post Book World, The Kite Runner is “a powerful book…no frills, no nonsense, just hard, spare prose…an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage or enlighten us. Parts of The Kite Runner are raw and excruciating to read, yet the book in its entirety is lovely written.”

 I completely agree with that statement. This novel is a bit dramatic in some parts, but it leaves you with a sense of love and understanding, especially between Amir and Hassan. This unforgettable story haunts the reader and it will leave you wanting more.